Yes. As of November 2026, you need a prescription for any CBD oil that is lawfully supplied in Australia. CBD is a Schedule 4 (Prescription Only) medicine, and the one category that would allow sale without a prescription has no products in it.12
Why is a prescription needed?
The Poisons Standard lists CBD “in preparations for therapeutic use” as a prescription-only medicine, provided CBD is 98 per cent or more of the cannabinoids in the product. Products with more THC or other cannabinoids are Schedule 8 controlled drugs, which also need a prescription.1
The only exception written into the law is hemp seed oil with 75 mg/kg or less of CBD. That is a food oil with a trace of CBD, not CBD oil.1 See is CBD the same as hemp oil?
What about over-the-counter CBD?
Low-dose CBD (up to 150 mg a day, for adults) can in principle be sold by a pharmacist without a prescription under Schedule 3. It only applies to products registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).1 In August 2025 the TGA said no complete application for such a product had been submitted or evaluated, and later official statements still count only two registered cannabis medicines, neither of them an over-the-counter product.23
How does a prescription work?
Most CBD products are “unapproved” medicines. The TGA says they “have not been assessed by us for safety, quality or effectiveness”.4 A doctor or nurse practitioner can apply to prescribe one through the Special Access Scheme or as an Authorised Prescriber, “if all other clinically appropriate treatment options” on the register have been considered.4
Patients cannot apply themselves. Access “can only be arranged through an Australian registered health practitioner”.4
A prescriber decides whether CBD is appropriate and sets the dose. Medical bodies advise that medicinal cannabis is “never a first line treatment”.5
What if a website sells it without one?
Supplying a Schedule 4 medicine without a prescription is unlawful under state medicines law, whatever the website says.1 See is it legal to buy CBD online?
Read the full guide: how to get CBD oil in Australia and who can prescribe CBD?
Footnotes
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Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01327/asmade/2026-09-30/text/original/pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Consultation paper on unapproved medicinal cannabis products, August 2025. https://consultations.tga.gov.au/medicines-regulation-division/test-soms/user_uploads/final---consultation-paper---medicinal-cannabis-review---august-2025.pdf ↩ ↩2
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Document released under FOI 26-2886, 2026. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/FOI%2026-2886.PDF ↩
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Medicinal cannabis access pathways. https://www.tga.gov.au/products/unapproved-therapeutic-goods/medicinal-cannabis/access-pathways ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Ahpra and National Boards. Medicinal cannabis prescribing guidance. https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Medicinal-cannabis-prescribing.aspx ↩
This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
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